Learning from Tax Day

Some people love it; some people hate it. But, ready or not, Tax Day 2012 is upon us. Since it’s at the forefront of our minds, we thought we’d compile a few lessons learned from the Tax Day crunch.

1. Double checking your work pays off. When filing your taxes, re-examining your work may save you headaches in the long run, and it may earn you more in returns. Here’s a helpful article highlighting some areas where you may qualify for deductions.

Any time you are working on a project, it’s important to check twice to make sure you’re meeting expectations, spelling things correctly and not missing a crucial component of the overall assignment. Although double checking may seem tedious in the here and now, chances are it’ll pay off in the long run.

2. Deadlines are a good thing. April 15 (well, April 17 this year) is ingrained in everyone’s head as “Tax Day.” We all know that this is our deadline to file, and as much as we may squawk about it, having a deadline in place is important. If we’re being honest, without a cutoff day, we may never get around to doing our taxes.

The same goes for everyday assignments. If you don’t set reasonable goals and have a timeline to work from, chances are projects will get pushed to the back burner. That’s not a good thing. Rather, having a deadline that you know you have to meet forces you to work harder, focus and produce a satisfactory outcome by a given date. The rush of adrenaline due to the deadline doesn’t hurt, either!

3. Seeking the counsel of those who are wiser than you is okay. In fact, it’s encouraged. We love our accountants, especially when tax season rolls around. They know way more than we do, and we look to them for advice and direction when it comes to getting our tax ducks in a row.

The beauty of working on a team is that everyone has strengths, so for any given project you are working on, you can call on someone who knows a little bit more than you do for advice or direction. Tapping into the resources around you is a necessary practice in order to produce quality work.